Lap-Band Surgery

LAP-BAND® Adjustable Gastric Banding System

Lap band surgery is a minimally invasive surgical approach to weight loss, performed to help reduce a person’s food intake. The LAP-BAND adjustable gastric banding system automates the weight management process by allowing for a personalized, healthy rate of weight loss. LAP-BAND System surgery is specifically designed for long-term weight management and does not require any additional surgeries for adjustment.

Olde Del Mar Surgical, led by Dr. Bhoyrul, offers an array of general and advanced surgical procedures aimed at helping our patients improve their health, as well as their lifestyles. Among the procedures offered at our surgical weight loss practice is the LAP-BAND Adjustable Gastric Banding System.

This minimally invasive surgical approach allows patients to lose weight with minimal scarring and reduced post-surgical pain. To learn more about Lap-Band and other weight loss surgeries performed at Olde Del Mar Surgical, register for our online informational seminar. Once you’ve viewed our seminar give us a call at 858.457.4917 to schedule a consultation and determine which weight loss surgery is the best fit for you. Rest assured that Dr. Bhoyrul and his team have the most experienced and comprehensive program for lap Band surgery in San Diego. They have won many designations, including “Center of Excellence”, Total Care certification, Experience, and faculty. Dr. Bhoyrul is one of only a handful of surgeons in the country (and the only one in San Diego) who serves on faculty, teaching other surgeons nationally on the lap band.

Lap band surgery does not require a permanent reconfiguration of the digestive tract. Instead, an inflatable silicone gastric band is placed around the upper portion of the stomach to constrict food intake, and reduce hunger. During gastric banding surgery, small incisions in the abdominal wall allow the gastric band to be carefully placed around the upper part of the stomach to manage food intake. Dr. Bhoyrul at our La Jolla weight loss surgery center is uniquely qualified to perform gastric banding surgery on an out-patient basis. To reduce pain, minimize scarring, and hasten recovery, he performs all of his lap band surgeries using laparoscopic techniques. Dr. Bhoyrul has developed his own technique to suture the stomach across the band (to hold it in place), and his own technique to affix the port underneath the skin and fat, to reduce the likelihood of a port complication. As a result, the team at Olde Del Mar Surgical is proud to have some of the best outcomes and lowest complications in the country. Dr. Bhoyrul’s results have been published and presented at international meetings.

LAP-BAND® Adjustable Gastric Banding System

Weight loss surgery is a life-changing experience requiring your full commitment. With the adjustable LAP-BAND® System, you and your physician are able to manage your weight loss according to your specific goals. Your doctor is able to make the necessary adjustments in the weight loss regulation mechanism by tightening or loosening the gastric band as conditions dictate. The pressure of the gastric band around the vagus nerve is speculated to be the reason that most patients with a gastric band report that they do not feel hungry after eating only a small meal. The control of hunger may be one of the most important reasons for the success of this operation.

Because the LAP-BAND® System uses a silicone ring filled with saline solution, your surgeon can adjust the lap band by adding or removing the saline contained inside the ring. When the correct tightness is reached, a patient should be able to satiate his or her hunger with a portion of food about the size of a deck of playing cards. To control the rate of weight loss, your surgeon can simply tighten or loosen the gastric band as necessary. When the band is optimally adjusted, many patients typically do not feel hungry for 5-6 hours after their most recent meal.

The silicone ring creates a stomach pouch which holds a smaller amount of food. This pouch is in turn connected to an access port, secured beneath the abdominal skin. This access port allows your physician to adjust the LAP-BAND® System by tightening or loosening the gastric band without the need for further surgery. The surgery is completely reversible.

Advantages of LAP-BAND® Gastric Banding Surgery

The LAP-BAND® System offers many benefits over other weight loss procedures such as gastric bypass. Gastric banding offers the most flexibility in managing weight loss and controlling food intake. Because lap band surgery is minimally invasive, scarring and recovery time are reduced. As compared to gastric bypass, lap band surgery does not require intestinal re-routing or stapling of the stomach wall. Because gastric banding surgery is an outpatient procedure, shorter hospital stays and recovery time allow for resumption of work-related activities within a week. The LAP-BAND System also carries a lower risk of post-surgical nutritional deficiencies and other side effects. Moreover, the adjustability of the LAP-BAND System allows for a more personalized management of your weight and can even be removed altogether. In case of a pregnancy, or any unexpected medical conditions, Dr. Bhoyrul at Olde Del Mar Surgical can loosen the gastric band to allow for an increased nutritional intake.

Contact Olde Del Mar Surgical – Lap Band Surgery in San Diego and North County

Dr. Bhoyrul at our La Jolla center is among the most qualified and knowledgeable surgeon in his field. To learn more about LAP-BAND® and gastric banding surgery, register for our online informational seminar, then give us a call at 858.457.4917 to schedule a consultation.